In July 2024, a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Calama, Chile, damaging buildings and causing power outages. However, the Calama quake was different from the megathrust quakes that are usually associated with the most destructive events in Chile and around the world. But the Calama quake occurred much deeper underground, at 125 kilometers beneath the Earth's surface and within the tectonic slab itself. But in the case of Calama, a sequence of events, discovered by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin, helped supercharge its strength. In addition to helping explain the tectonic forces behind the powerful quake, the findings have implications for future earthquake hazard assessments.